THE SECOND VOW

CHAPTER 2 THE UNSEEN

“Marriage?” Lavinia said, her eyes widening at her father's words.

She knew marriage would come someday, but hearing it now still shocked her. Lavinia had never expected it to happen so soon.

“The Beaumont's sent this letter yesterday,” Alistair said, handing the letter to his daughter.

Lavinia took it and opened it. Her eyes moved over the words for a moment before she folded the letter again. What was the point of reading it when the matter had already been made known to her?

“It is an honour to be married into such a family,” Alistair said, trying to make the news easier for Lavinia to accept.

Alistair remembered the day he had been told of his own marriage. He had been young and just as shocked, but he had learned to keep his feelings to himself.

Vivienne reached for her daughter's hand.

“You are going to be fine. It is not happening immediately. There is still some time, and you may ask me anything you wish.”

There was pity in Vivienne's eyes.

Lavinia looked at both her parents. There was so much she wanted to ask, but the words did not come. The marriage itself was not bad news. What troubled her was the thought of leaving the people she had known all her life.

For eighteen years, her parents had been there for her. They had protected her, cared for her, and provided everything she needed. Lavinia had never been given a reason to doubt them.

If this was what they wanted from her, then perhaps accepting it was the right thing to do.

Lavinia looked down at the letter before raising her eyes again.

“If this is what you want from me, so shall it be.”

For a moment, neither parent spoke.

Alistair and Vivienne exchanged a surprised look. They had expected questions, perhaps even an argument.

Instead, Lavinia had accepted the decision without a fight.

Alistair smiled, and Vivienne pulled her daughter into an embrace.

“We are very happy you have responded this way,” Alistair said.

Lavinia smiled faintly, though there was still confusion in her heart.

After a few more moments with her parents, Lavinia excused herself and returned to her room. The door closed behind her, and she walked straight to the bed before lying down.

Her eyes remained on the ceiling.

She was going to be married.

The thought still felt strange.

A few moments later, a sound came from the window.

Lavinia lifted her head and saw Elena climbing through.

“Elena?”

Elena stepped into the room and dusted her dress.

“You look troubled.”

“So do you,” Lavinia replied.

Elena sat beside her on the bed.

Unlike Lavinia, Elena had not grown up surrounded by wealth. She was the daughter of one of the Hawthorne household's servants and had spent most of her childhood within the same estate, though her life had been very different from Lavinia's.

Lavinia had grown up with books, tutors, fine dresses, and servants attending to her every need. Elena had grown up learning how to mend a torn dress, carry out errands, and make do with what she had.

Yet the difference between them had never kept them apart.

They had met as children and had become inseparable. To Lavinia, Elena had never been merely a servant's daughter. She was the person with whom she could speak freely, laugh without restraint, and share thoughts she would never dare speak aloud before anyone else.

Elena, in turn, knew that Lavinia's sheltered life did not make her unkind. If anything, Lavinia had always treated her with more affection than anyone could have expected.

Perhaps that was why Elena could climb through her friend's window without fear of being scolded.

“I had a strange dream last night,” Elena said.

“What kind of dream?”

“I do not know how to explain it. It just felt strange.”

Elena folded her hands in her lap.

“I found myself in a place I had never seen before. There was a flower growing there, and somehow, I knew I had to take care of it.”

Lavinia listened carefully.

“There were two waters,” Elena continued. “One was clear, while the other was not good. The clear water was far away from the flower.”

“What did you do?”

“I used the clear water to water the flower. Every time I went to get it, the flower grew well. It became healthier each time.”

Elena paused.

“But the water was too far. I became tired of going all the way there.”

Lavinia remained quiet.

“There was another water closer to me,” Elena said. “So I decided to use that one instead. I thought it would be easier.”

“And what happened?”

“The flower began to wither.”

Elena looked down at her hands.

“It slowly died until there was nothing left.”

Lavinia was quiet for a moment.

“That was the whole dream?”

Elena nodded.

“Yes. I do not know what it means, but I cannot stop thinking about it.”

“Perhaps it was only a dream.”

“Perhaps,” Elena said, though she did not sound convinced.

For a moment, the room became quiet.

Lavinia wanted to tell Elena about the marriage.

The words were there, but something stopped her from saying them.

“Elena.”

“Yes?”

“Never mind.”

Elena looked at her curiously.

“What were you going to say?”

Lavinia stood and reached for her friend's hand.

“Come with me.”

“Where?”

“I want to tell you something very important.”

Before Elena could ask anything else, Lavinia pulled her towards the door.

The two girls hurried out of the room and made their way towards the field.

Lavinia had something to tell her friend, and she wanted them to be alone when she finally said it to her.